Runner Up
recs, theories, gigs
Teaching is starting to wind down and I’m finding little moments of relaxation as summer sets in. These pauses in the madness have allowed me to read, hear, see, and eat some things that have brought me serious and true joy so I wanted to share them with you!
A few recommendations:
This essay by goofball legend and music magician Adam Schatz (aka Landlady). I played some saxophone on his new album amid a cast of incredible musicians - out tomorrow, check it!
This substack from my dear friend Gabe whose writing and conversation elucidates questions I didn’t even know I had.
This album of new works for automated pipe organ from Aggregate Festival. I will be in Berlin at the festival in September if anyone nearby wants to join!
The film Certain Women by Kelly Reichardt - bleak but powerful. I’m a sucker for Kristen Stewart ok sue me.
Broccolini cooked in butter and miso. So simple, so good.
Mid-day sun interludes in Herbie Von King.
Last night was the one year anniversary party for Close Up, a space that has become a pillar of the creative jazz scene here in a very short time. It was a truly epic night that felt like the stuff of lore for years to come. Hanging and playing with musicians spanning the wide stylistic geography of the scene got me thinking about community and just how important these spaces are for the music and for the culture. As we brace for the closure later this year of a key Brooklyn venue that has been a lifeline for so many songwriters and cross-genre projects for many years I’ve been talking to friends about what comes next. This feels like a pivotal time in the scene and one in which ensuring the future existence of spaces like The Owl and Close Up is necessary for the health of the music and the community.
A little theory:
At the Close Up party I played in a big band for the first time in almost ten years. I had a realization while playing those crazy inner voice lines of a second alto Basie chart that musicians who grew up playing alto 2 and tenor 2 parts (arguably the weirdest, most idiosyncratic roles in the big band) develop a different sense of harmony and phrasing. While they’re often put on those parts because they didn’t make first chair my theory is that they go on to be possibly more whacky and individual musicians because their ears are filled with all the leftover notes and nutty leaps that sound offbeat by themselves but are really the meat of the section. I’d be curious if this theory resonates with anyone else… I’m guessing Ornette, Dolphy, Ayler, Mark Turner maybe played some second chair in their days…
What I’m listening to:
Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas
Lippard Arkbro Lindwall - How do I know if my cat likes me
Moontype - I Let the Wind Push Down On Me
Mark Fell & Gábor Lázár - The Neurobiology of Moral Decision Making
Arthur Russell - Iowa Dream
Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal
What I’m reading:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
Gigs:
6/13 & 6/14 - Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics at Loove Labs Annex
6/21 - Gamelan Dharma Swara at Fort Greene Park for Make Music NY
6/28 - John Andrews & The Yawns at TV Eye
6/29 - Snack Mix (w/ Sarah Pedinotti, Jeremy Gustin, Adam Brisbin, Eivind Opsvik, Wendy Eisenberg & Mauro Refosco aka crazy band) at Umbra
6/29 - Theodoore at Nightclub 101 - sharing le bill with Moontype who’s new record is amazing!!
7/5 - trio w/ Yvonne Rogers & Eliza Salem at Nublu
7/12 - Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics at Nublu
7/14 - songs band at Sleepwalk for sweet Levee Wolf’s release show - with Stephen Becker, Izzy Oram-Brown and Jon Starks!!
7/30 - Sprat at Close Up
xoxo,
Nora